I am doing a fund-raiser to help send my nephew (Stephen) on a once in a lifetime opportunity for baseball. He was recently selected to play for the Under Armour National Team in one of the highest profile, most prestigious amateur baseball tournaments in the country this October(http://www.azbaseball.com/senior_classic/index.htm). The exposure he will gain during this tournament along with the effort the folks from the Under Armour National Team put forth are a combination that has led to over 85% of the Under Armour players gaining at least a scholarship to continue their baseball careers at the collegiate level.

Stephen will have a great shot at landing a scholarship, not to mention the possibility of being drafted in next June's Major League Draft. At the recent workout where he was selected to play for Under Armour, of 200 players, he was rated the #1 prospect. His final ratings were "Draft-Pick Potential" defensively as an outfielder and "High Division 1 (top 10% of colleges) Caliber" for his hitting.

Enhancing his opportunity even further, the kid is a fantastic student. He spent his Junior Year splitting time between his high school classes and taking entry level college courses at the local Community College. So he has already completed his Freshman Year! He is also about as kind, respectful and mature as any 17 year old you will come across. When I talked to the man who selected Stephen for this opportunity, his belief was Stephen might be the most under-recruited player he knows. He said the reaction to seeing him in Arizona by the more than 200college scouts and most if not all of the 32 MLB teams will be, "Who is Stephen Scaccia, where did he come from, and why do we not already know about him?"

At the end of the day, the kid has not caught too many breaks in his life. His parents were prepared to pass on this chance because of the cost associated with it. So I found out and have taken it over. Stephen will be going to Arizona...now I just need to figure out how.

Onto the fund-raiser!

You know them. You love them. It is time to do some football squares. I will be doing squares for the Browns games this season. Cost to you? $50. What do you get? A square in all 16 Browns games for the 2011 season. Your square will stay the same, but you will have a different set of numbers each week. I will draw the numbers for all 16 games once the board is sold out. There will be 4 winners for each game. Payouts will be made at the end of the NFL Regular Season.

What do I need from you? 1. Obviously $50. Payable by cash or check. Need to have the money in my hand by September 8, 2011. That is the Thursday before the Browns first game. 2. A number between 1-100. Your name will be placed inside the corresponding square on the board. They are numbered 1-10 across the columns and 1,11,21 going down the side. Browns score will always be across the top and their opponent on the side. Obviously, once a number is taken it is gone. Not the most efficient way to do it, but I have little choice. 3. If you would like a copy of the squares once they are filled out, an e-mail address. 4. Pass this e-mail along to anyone you think might be interested.

Checks should be made payable to Cris Sykes. Please send entry to:

Cris Sykes 408 Waterbury Dr. Eastlake, Ohio 44095

Thanks to all for taking the time to read through this and considering taking part in the fund raising efforts. Obviously, you can reply in this thread to lock in your number.

The squares have sold out. For anyone still needing to get payment in, please take care of it this week. The numbers will be drawn this week and sent out via e-mail, so if anyone did not provide an e-mail address, PM me.

Last year, South senior Steven Scaccia was selected to play on the Under Armour National Team in the Arizona Senior Fall Classic.

Scaccia, who was one of only four players from Ohio selected to play on the team, was graded as a "Rising Senior" for the 2012 calendar year based on the camp. The performance in Arizona was an indicator of things to come as the speedy outfielder has kept rising this spring for the Rebels.

Scaccia is among the area's top hitters with a .558 average this season. He also started as a junior on South's 2011 state final four team.

The analysis of his play at the Arizona Senior Fall Classic was glowing:

"Stephen is a dynamic young athlete who performed well against top competition at the Arizona Senior Fall Classic. He possesses game-changing speed as evidenced by his 6.55 60 time. He is quick-twitch and his speed plays both in the outfield and on the bases. In the field, he gets good jumps, takes solid routes and covers a lot of ground. He has outstanding arm strength and his throws have life and are accurate. At the plate, Stephen generates good bat speed and his level bat path produces consistent hard contact. He uses the entire field and flashes some gap power. Overall, Stephen is an impact guy at the next level who has the legitimate tools to play CF and hit at the top of the order."

Some schools have shown interest in Scaccia, but he currently does not have a firm offer to play college baseball. If the Rebels make another postseason run, that could change.